Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

The Fire Research Section, Division of Building Research, National Research Council of Canada has acquired a SCIEX TAGA 6000 AF'CI (atmospheric pressure chemical ionization)/MS/MS, an analytical instrument unique for its high sensitivity and high speed in analysis. The instrument is capable of monitoring simultaneously many types of gases generated in pyrolysis/combustion. Coupled with a Dupont 951 thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), it has been used for studying the pyrolysis products of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) at different stages of the pyrolysis process. A 1 mg specimen was pyrolyzed in the TGA in a stream of nitrogen or air and the products were introduced t o the APCI/MS/MS through a short glass capillary. The molecules of the product were ionized under atmospheric pressure, and analyzed in real time with three serial quadrupole mass filters . The main products were HCN, acetic acid, and a series of nitriles. The generation of each product is discussed in the light of the thermogravimetric analysis